There is no clear plan for business commitment on abortion. After numerous companies came forward to announce that they would cover the travel expenses of their employees for abortion, executives have had to move quickly to resolve the mechanics of these policies and explain them to a workforce concerned about the abortion. confidentiality and security.
Few companies have directly commented on the Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which ended nearly 50 years of federal abortion rights. Many more have responded by expanding their health care policies to cover the travel and other expenses of employees who cannot have an abortion near home, now that the procedure is banned in at least eight states with other bans coming into effect soon. . About half of the country gets its health coverage from employers, and the wave of new employer commitments has raised concerns for some workers about privacy.
“It’s a final judgment day scenario if people have to bring their healthcare options to their employers,” said Dina Fierro, global vice president of cosmetics company Nars, echoing a concern that many workers have expressed on social media in recent days.
Employers are struggling to prepare for possible legal challenges to their health policies, as well as to respond to the control of their past political donations to politicians who supported the abortion ban. Match Group, for example, whose former chief executive Shar Dubey announced a fund in September to support access to abortion in collaboration with Planned Parenthood Los Angeles, donated more than $ 100,000 to the Republican Attorney General’s Association last year, as reported in Popular Information. Match Group declined to comment.
Companies that said they would help employees who have to travel to have an abortion include Disney, Macy’s, H&M, Nordstrom, Nike, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Snap, who join a group. larger which includes Starbucks and Yelp who had previously committed to do so. Salesforce and Google said they would relocate employees who want to leave states where abortion is prohibited.
These employers cover health care for only a fraction of the millions of people living in states where abortion is or will soon be banned. And other big employers have not made public statements about employee assistance. The country’s largest private businessman, Walmart, declined to comment on the Supreme Court ruling. Other big business such as Target, Coca-Cola and Delta Air Lines did not respond to requests for comment.
Some marketing experts point out that companies that weigh in on it will likely face some backlash. “Consumers and employees don’t want companies to‘ take a position ’unless companies take their position and cause,” Kimberly Whitler, who teaches marketing at the University of Virginia Darden School, said in an email. of Business.
In an attempt to allay fears about possible confidentiality issues, many employers presenting new abortion-related benefits seek to allow workers and others in their health care plans to receive reimbursement for the trip without revealing anything to their managers. In some cases, this means that people file claims with their insurance companies as they would for other medical procedures. Yelp, for example, explained to its employees in April that its travel benefit is managed through its insurance provider.
“No one on Yelp will ever receive any information about who incurred a claim or received a refund,” a Yelp spokeswoman said.
Aetna, one of the largest insurance companies, said it will “ensure that our data practices comply with all applicable laws that protect the privacy of our members.” UnitedHealth declined to specifically comment on privacy issues. Anthem, Cigna, and Humana did not respond to requests for comment.
Expedia said travel costs would be reimbursed through medical plan providers and employees could use their free time without noticing the reason. BuzzFeed said instead of reimbursing for abortion-related expenses, it would offer scholarships that would be approved by the head of its human resources department, someone, the company said, who was trained to handle confidential matters.
PayPal said it had an employee advocacy team that provided confidential information to employees on sensitive issues, including the use of their health benefits. Starbucks employees have punctual third-party people, called advocates, whom employees can approach anonymously with questions about health benefits, making sure they don’t have to reveal details about their medical needs to managers.
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June 27, 2022, 7:38 PM ET
“This can be anything, from‘ I have a planned knee surgery and I want to make the right decision on a plan, ’to getting advice on what to do if they intend to use the fertility benefit and all that. that is in between, ”Reggie said. Borges, spokesman for the company.
Some employers have set out the details of their new healthcare policies in notes to staff. Impossible Foods, for example, said that in addition to travel for abortions, it would also cover accommodation, meals and childcare. Wells Fargo said as of July 1, his health care plans would include travel reimbursement and accommodation for “abortion-related legal services.” (Patagonia said it would also cover bail for employees who are arrested while protesting peacefully for the Supreme Court’s decision.)
Many other companies were still preparing their plans. Culture Amp, for example, a company surveying employees, said in announcing up to $ 2,000 in travel-related refunds for abortion-related it was figuring out how to “minimize the disclosure of information in the refund process.”
The company said Monday it was still receiving final confirmation that flight or gas costs could be routed for approval to the HR team instead of through managers.
“You shouldn’t tell your manager you’re having an abortion,” said Aubrey Blanche, the company’s senior director.
No banned state is currently trying to prosecute women traveling out of state for abortion, but some legal experts think these laws could be possible in the future, as well as attempts to use existing laws to prosecute women. abortion trips. Texas Republican lawmakers have already said they plan to introduce legislation that penalizes companies that pay for out-of-state abortion trips.
“We’re going to see creative attempts by people who are deeply committed to stopping abortion to use existing laws and pass new laws to stop as many abortions as possible, including corporate-funded ones,” said David Cohen, a professor of constitutional law. at Drexel University. “Companies are preparing to fight.”
And some executives seemed prepared for that. On Friday, Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, wrote in a tweet: “I think CEOs have a responsibility to take care of their employees, no matter what happens.”
Lora Kelley helped report.